12 cozy coops

Happy birthday!

This cute little coop was a birthday gift for "Boltsjn1" from her husband. He built it to house her six new chickens. It features a screened-in area that allows the free-range birds to go outside when they're confined to the coop. The front door was cut in half to make a Dutch door with a screen to allow the breeze to come in. Inside, there are seven nesting boxes and two 4-foot roosting poles.

Two by two

Camden's "Catawba chicken ark" features a triangular design with removable sides. The tops of the ends are also removable. Inside this mini coop, there's a roosting pole and nesting boxes. The bottom is open to allow the chickens to graze in the grass.

Self-contained coop

Andrew Shook's chicken coop is 4'x8', and 8' tall, but the house itself is 2'x4', 6' tall. The feeder and water dispenser are located in the 2' high space under the house. A ramp leads into the house, which has a window on each side and an opening to collect eggs from the outside. The entire chicken yard is enclosed with wire and covered to protect birds from the elements and predators.

Coop de Ville

Sisters Keala and Coleen looked at pre-made coops, but decided to build their own. They spent about the same amount of money, but the result was a very personalized coop complete with plumbing and electricity, a covered porch, and an interior painted with murals. Click below for more photos of the construction project and finished coop.

Chicken mansion

Kevin Davis built a sloped roost inside his chicken coop. It's completely enclosed with chicken wire to keep the birds out of the mess. Note the door underneath the roost -- it flips open from the outside for easy cleaning without disturbing the chickens. "I think that 90% of the mess is collected in the sand beneath the roost," Davis says. Similar doors behind the nest boxes make egg collection a snap. Click below to see more of this spectacular chicken coop, complete with predator-proof run.

Camper coop

Lorraine Keegan purchased an old pop-up camper for $100, sold the awning for $75, and she and her husband used items they already had to transform the old camper into a $25 coop for their chickens and ducks. Click below to see more photos of the camper coop and get more great recycling ideas from our readers.

Safe in the coop

Beloved children's author Jan Brett keeps her chickens and ducks inside their coop all but an hour a day, when she's nearby doing chores. They aren't exactly cooped up inside their coop, though. They have plenty of room and get lots of pampering from Brett. "They like to be washed and blown dry," she says. "I enjoy the nurturing." Click below to see more photos of their coop.

FREE Chicken Reference Guide

Download this FREE Keeping Chickens Guide PDF courtesy of Living the Country Life. Whatever reason you raise chickens for, one thing's for sure: living in the country is simply better with chickens in it.